Martin Kove has played one of the most intimidating characters in movie history. But over the weekend, the "Cobra Kai" star found himself in a situation where karate wasn't going to do much good.
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Kove, best known for playing John Kreese in "The Karate Kid" franchise and Netflix's "Cobra Kai," had to be rescued from his Franklin, Tennessee-area home after rising floodwaters surrounded the property Saturday.
According to FOX 17 News in Nashville, first responders reached Kove, a friend and his new 12-week-old puppy, Winston, by boat after heavy rain caused nearby Five Mile Creek to overflow.
And this wasn't just a little water in the yard.
"I'm sitting in the back, watching a movie, and then all of a sudden I get up and I just look out the back and there's a river, like a major river," Kove told FOX 17. "Like a Mississippi River."
Kove said he went to the front of the house and found raging water about 10 feet away. The entire home was surrounded.
The 80-year-old actor called 911, though he reportedly told dispatchers not to make him a priority because other neighbors were facing even more dangerous conditions. Eventually, a large group of first responders arrived and got everyone out safely.
Naturally, some "Karate Kid" humor found its way into the rescue.
Kove said several of the first responders were fans and referenced Kreese's famous "no mercy" philosophy. This time, fortunately, there was plenty of mercy.
"But there was mercy here," Kove said. "Martin Kove received a lot of mercy from God."
Kove said the water never entered his house, though he later found furniture swept into the woods and creek, damaged fencing and other signs of just how powerful the flooding had been.
He has lived on the property for about five years and said he's received plenty of flash-flood warnings during that time. He had never actually experienced flooding like this.
The ordeal also left Kove wondering whether continued development around Franklin could be contributing to the area's flooding problems.
"Where there was a creek or where there were just forests, now is replaced by concrete," he said. "Now is replaced by foundations. And the water doesn't have a place to be displaced to."
Officials have not established any connection between recent development and the flooding at Kove's home.
Either way, Kove is simply grateful everyone made it out safely, including little Winston. And despite his frightening weekend, he has no plans to leave Tennessee.
"Nashville and the people here are wonderful," Kove said.
